The story

Pirates have released a French merchant ship and its nine crew members seized off the Nigerian coast over the weekend, the ship's owners said Wednesday.

The announcement came as two Chinese destroyers and a supply ship joined the growing international naval coalition patrolling the waters in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia.

The crew members of the Bourbon Leda are all in good health, Paris-based Bourbon said in a news release. They will be "rapidly reunited" with their family and friends, the company said. Read full article »